That's the synopsis of a new report by Grubb & Ellis Co. But Jacksonville's full recovery, both Downtown and the suburbs, is at least six months away, the study says. Jacksonville is 230 miles north of Downtown Orlando.

The city with the largest land area in Florida (759 square miles) and home of the largest publicly traded commercial real estate conglomerate in the state (St. Joe Co.) has shaved its overall vacancy level to 14.3% from a 2001 high of 17%. At yearend 2001, the CBD showed 10.4% vacancies out of 6.7 million sf of rentable space; the suburbs, 16.8% out of a total inventory of 11.1 million sf.

"Lease rates are expected to continue their decline through mid-2002 before a national recovery has any impact on Jacksonville," Jeffrey S. Sweeney, executive vice president/managing director for G&E's central and north Florida divisions, tells GlobeSt.com.